Chapter 247: Kidnapping Raymond’s Sister!

Chapter 247: Kidnapping Raymond's Sister!

Rumble. At 9 PM, I pulled up into a parking spot in front of the local Quick Mart near the Highway 69 on-ramp area. I hit the kill switch, silencing the motorcycle's heavy engine before sliding my phone from my pocket.

I was forced to wear a sleek, all-black motorcycle night suit. It perfectly matched what Ling Ling was wearing tonight, and ironically, it matched the exact outfit of my passenger.

Melody had been deliberately leaning against my back to hold on while we rode to this specific spot. She slid off the back of the bike, her boots clicking against the pavement. She was a couple of inches taller than Ling Ling, but both of them shared the same blue eyes and black hair. Under the cover of darkness and low-resolution street cameras, they could easily pass for one another. That exact physical resemblance was the reason I first targeted Melody.

Melody looked down at me while I sat on the idling motorcycle. I searched my smartphone, tracking everyone's GPS locations with my Star City-wide Cat and Mouse App running in the foreground.

"Rick, so all I have to do is go into the Quick Mart, buy the burner phone, and make those two calls?" Melody asked, her voice trembling slightly as she adjusted the collar of her tight suit.

I pointed through the glass window toward the six-foot-tall man standing behind the counter. "My friend James Tong and I own the Quick Mart chain, and he is here tonight just to play the part of the employee on duty. He will hand you a burner phone that is already completely set up by my hacker. Just go buy a few snacks to sell the part to anyone watching. Make sure you look nervous, like I am actively kidnapping you and you secretly managed to grab the phone. Just step into the restroom to make the calls and get those guys to tail us."

Melody turned toward the glass doors, but she suddenly stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Don't worry, Rick. I was born into a villainous family, but I won't bite the hand that actually helps me. Thanks for giving me a second chance to make up for what my Li clan has done in the past."

I waved my hand dismissively, wanting to cut the sentimental talk short before the cameras picked up anything strange. "Less apologizing and prove it with your actions. Marry Luke and give him plenty of Lee children, and our karmic debt is officially settled. The moment Greg's death certificate officially comes in, you marry Luke. Be good and you will be treated like the noble lady you always wanted to be. You still are a Lee in the end, so now go and act your part."

The woman looked quite a bit like a younger Lucy Shen with her deep black hair and striking blue eyes. She turned and entered the store, her tight-fitting black leather full-body suit immediately drawing the attention of the few customers inside. As soon as she cleared the doorway, I dialed the number to call the real Lucy Shen.

Her voice echoed through the speaker almost instantly. [Ufufu, hello husband! I am sitting right here at the west side docks and have confirmed that Raymond, Clark, and a handful of the SDF soldiers came to fish out Greg after I called them with the anonymous tip.]

A satisfied smile crossed my face. I wanted those exact guys to be trailing right behind me when Adam eventually tracked me down, giving me a solid head start as I pushed north. "Are all of my Fire Birds members with their sports cars watching the crime scene like lookie-loos?" I asked.

[Yup, and if your theory is right, they will commandeer those exact vehicles to chase you north and fall directly into your traps,] Lucy explained, her tone dripping with amusement. [All of the tracking and spying devices are completely littered throughout those cars, so no matter which ones they steal, we will know everything they say and do. Just lead them far away so they can't investigate all the deaths of Lee family members starting to roll in over the police scanners.]

Through the storefront glass, I watched James hand Melody the phone while pointing her toward the back hallway. That specific device was special because it had the RAID program built into the core software, allowing it to stream the exact video and audio data I wanted Adam to see. Adam would only be able to use that phone to track the GPS coordinates of both Ling Ling and me when we headed north to break through to the Golden Core Realm.

James held up a box of Monkey King Condoms in my direction, giving me our pre-arranged signal. "Alright Lucy, I just got the thumbs up from James," I said, keeping my eyes on the store entrance. "He is going to take his family and go hide at the Hidden Dragon safe house immediately. Is Jean Jia safe?"

[Yup, while I take over her identity, she will just hide out and live on the top floor of the Velvet Tower until we give her the all-clear signal,] Lucy replied smoothly. [Oh, Melody is talking directly to Adam right now, do you want to listen in on the line?]

I smirked, leaning back against the handlebars. "Nope, she isn't a threat to us. Her specific Lee bloodline talent is actually in politics, which was unfortunate for her since she wasn't born into the political branch of the Lee family. That woman was never a true threat to me or our plans. She is highly rational and will always make the smartest choice for her survival. Just look at how well she listened in the past when I threatened her, and how fast she agreed to marry Luke just to secure a family. That woman is incredibly savvy and smart."

[Oh? Damn, Rick, you totally called it!] Lucy let out a soft laugh on the other end. [Even I would believe her right now, she makes it sound like you are kidnapping her to do terrible things to her outside of Star City, fufu. Okay, now Adam is calling Raymond with the kidnapping news, bye. Click, do, do, do.]

A minute later, Melody came rushing out of the Quick Mart, her face pale as she approached the bike. "Okay, Rick, I called both Adam and Raymond exactly like you told me to, now what do we do?"

I patted the leather seat directly behind me. "Now we swap you out for your stunt double and lead those fools on a wild goose chase to finish them off once and for all. What, did you actually think I would get rid of you after you did your job? Melody, one thing Rick Lee always does is keep his promises, even if that means giving the China Empire Empress four fucking kids, sigh."

Melody clearly thought I was joking about knocking up the Empress, but a visible wave of relief washed over her when she realized she wasn't joining Greg on a permanent underwater diving trip. She quickly climbed onto the back, and we tore out of the parking lot.

Five minutes later, we pulled into a dark alleyway completely hidden from the city's surveillance cameras. Two figures were already waiting for us next to a running red SUV. It was Ling Ling, dressed in the exact same provocative black leather night suit, standing beside Luke, who wore his signature black suit, a crimson tie, and dark sunglasses despite the pitch-black night.

Luke was quietly smoking a cigarette while his wives, Cat and Jane, were away. These brief moments were his rare chances to cut loose, and he leaned casually against the front fender of the vehicle.

I pulled up and cut the engine of the massive machine. Ling Ling watched Melody step off the bike to stand near Luke, her eyes tracking the movement before she held her hand out expectantly. "Alright, your part of the script is done. I'll take the phone now. Luke, have fun, fufu," she giggled, cutely covering her lips with her hand as she teased Luke about being forced to marry Melody Lee.

Ling Ling leaped onto the seat behind me, locking her arms around my waist in a tight death grip. I fired up the engine, gave a quick wave to Luke, and peeled out of the alley to hit the northbound lanes of Highway 69.

The moment we disappeared around the corner, Melody turned her gaze toward the large, muscular man standing beside her. She found him oddly charming, and her expression turned entirely serious as she looked at him. "Luke, I haven't had sex in over a year, and Rick won't fully trust me until I marry you and give you children, so..." She placed a firm hand on his bicep, pointing directly toward the tinted windows of the SUV parked deep in the shadows. "I like to try kinky things, and dark alley car sex is something I haven't tried yet. Let's consummate our marriage early, this way Rick will finally believe my loyalty."

Luke was completely stunned by the sudden offer. He snatched off his sunglasses, staring at the beautiful woman with wide, blinking blue eyes. "Really?! For real?!"

Ten minutes later, the red SUV was rocking violently in the dark alleyway, its tinted windows completely fogged over from the heat inside. Just down the street, a group of four high-speed race cars burst past the opening, roaring directly toward the Highway 69 northbound on-ramp.

The engine of Raymond Lee’s bubblegum-pink Mazda Miata MX-5 screamed in heavy protest as he slammed his foot flat against the gas pedal. It was officially midnight, and the vibrant neon skyline of Star City was rapidly fading into the distance behind them as they peeled onto Highway 69 North.

Up ahead, the distant taillights of the fleeing motorcycle blurred into a crimson streak against the dark asphalt. Rick Lee had his sister.

"Do not let him out of your sight!" Raymond roared into his radio, the rushing wind of the open-top cabin whipping his hair into a wild, frenzied nest. He looked exactly like an angry, wind-blasted thumb sitting inside a motorized piece of strawberry bubblegum. "He takes her, he dies! Drive like your wives have been stolen, damn it!"

The response from his SDF squad was immediate, flawless, and terrifyingly fast.

To his left, Clark Lee initiated the chase with strict military precision. The McLaren 720S lunged forward like a striking predator, its twin-turbo V8 roaring fiercely as it smoothly glided onto the highway ramp, instantly taking the lead. Right on its bumper, the raw, track-tuned growl of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS shook the asphalt, its massive rear wing cutting sharply through the midnight air. Bringing up the rear, the Ferrari 488 GTB unleashed a high-pitched, operatic wail, its tires gripping the pavement perfectly as it rocketed into the fast lane.

It was a beautiful, seamless display of tactical driving.

Then came Raymond.

"I'm moving up! Cover the flanks!" Raymond shouted into his radio, throwing the Miata into third gear to join the high-speed formation.

Rick Lee had indeed heavily tampered with the vehicle before the chase. But he hadn't cut the brake lines. He hadn't rigged a hidden explosive beneath the seat. He had done something far worse to break the commander's pride.

The exact moment Raymond hit eighty-eight miles per hour, the Miata’s aftermarket, hydraulic convertible top—which was supposed to be completely disabled—suddenly locked into a mind of its own. With a loud, mechanical whirr and a sharp clack, the pink roof violently unlatched itself from the frame and began to cycle closed.

"What the—?" Raymond gasped, his hands gripping the steering wheel in sudden panic.

The roof didn't just close normally. It stopped directly halfway through the cycle, standing completely vertical like a massive, bubblegum-pink sail catching a eighty-eight-mile-per-hour headwind.

The extreme aerodynamic drag was instantaneous. The little Mazda violently jerked backward as if hit by a giant, invisible hand. The front tires even lifted entirely off the ground for a single, terrifying millisecond.

Boom~ A loud bang echoed through the night.

The windshield shattered instantly under the sudden, immense air pressure. Simultaneously, Rick's true masterpiece activated as the customized horn—which had been rewired directly into the main throttle sensor—triggered.

Instead of a standard vehicle horn, a high-pitched, pre-recorded circus clown melody began to blare from the front grill at maximum volume. [Honk-honk-a-doodle-doo!]

Raymond’s open radio line transmitted the entire ridiculous spectacle to the rest of the pursuing squad.

[Raymond? What is that noise? Are you actively coming under enemy fire?] Clark’s voice crackled through the comms, filled with genuine tactical concern as the McLaren pulled further and further away into the darkness.

"It's the roof! The roof is—cough—shut up! Get back here!" Raymond screamed at the top of his lungs, but his voice was entirely drowned out by the upbeat circus music blaring from his own hood.

The intense wind pressure against the vertical fiberglass roof finally became too much for the bolts to handle. With a horrific screech of tearing metal, the entire pink top ripped completely off the car's frame. It launched high into the air like a giant, neon-pink confetti piece, spinning wildly into the midnight sky before crashing harmlessly into a deep ditch by the roadside.

Left in its wake was Raymond, completely exposed to the elements. He sat shivering in a roofless, windshield-less, utterly ruined pink Miata that was now coasting to a sad, sputtering halt on the shoulder of Highway 69. His face was entirely covered in fine windshield dust, his crisp SDF uniform was completely disheveled, and the clown horn gave one final, pathetic [womp-womp] before the engine died completely.

Miles ahead, three supercar exhausts echoed into the night, leaving the commander completely stranded in a broken toy.